Kazakhstan suggests setting up SCO expert group to study Islamic State

The minister noted that Islamic State was strengthening its position in the region, in particular in Afghanistan. "We need to study how sizeable this group is, what their plans are," Idrissov told a high-level conference "Security and Stability in the SCO Region." "In this connection, I suggest establishing an expert group to analyze this phenomenon in depth." Meanwhile, SCO Secretary General Dmitry Mezentsev confirmed that the SCO was ready to go ahead with the setting of such group. "This work cannot be done in a comprehensive manner without the support of the foreign ministry's analytical structures," he said. "I think we'll prepare the results of this work in September or October. The project cannot remain on the shelf, it should provide new impetus to more active cooperation." "Kazakhstan's foreign minister outlined the problem in a precise manner and in due time," Mezentsev said, TASS reports.